Every time he returns to the screen, Tom Cruise brings surprises to the audience. At the age of 61, the actor still takes on deadly action scenes himself, without the need for a stuntman.

In 2010, Hollywood filmmakers implemented the project The Expendables with the desire to bring together once-famous action stars, creating conditions for them to regain their glory and conquer the audience.

However, Tom Cruise has never run out of time or stopped being energetic. Over the past 20 years, the star born in 1962 has been working hard in films, continuously appearing in many expensive blockbuster projects. Not to mention, he also participated in production and performed his own deadly action scenes without the need for a stuntman.

Action icons cannot be replaced

With his handsome face and charming acting style, Tom Cruise quickly gained attention as soon as he appeared on the silver screen, quickly catching the eye of many famous producers. Famous for Risky Business (1983), but it was not until Top Gun (1986) that he truly made his mark as one of Hollywood’s brightest action stars.

3 decades later, when the sequel Top Gun: Maverick (2022) is planned, Tom Cruise is still the only choice for the main character. The audience may not even remember the movie’s content, but they cannot forget the image of the actor playing the talented pilot Maverick.

Tom Cruise’s appearance helped Top Gun: Maverick succeed beyond expectations, becoming the second most popular film of the year with nearly 1.5 billion USD. The work also helped global box office revenue revive after a gloomy period due to Covid-19.

His name is also associated with a series of action projects such as Days of Thunder (1990), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Jack Reacher (2012), Edge of Tomorrow (2014)… which project? also attracted attention when it debuted, largely thanks to its star’s charisma.

In particular, the role of agent Ethan Hunt in the billion-dollar action franchise Mission: Impossible was a major turning point, helping Tom Cruise’s career reach its peak. The film series started with Mission: Impossible (1996), so far 7 parts have been released and part 8 is in production.

In the context of Hollywood having to search for new faces for superhero roles and the James Bond series constantly changing actors, Tom Cruise is almost not afraid of being eliminated. He always plays the main character in all 8 parts, no other name can replace him.

The star is the soul of the brand, helping the next part succeed beyond the previous part. Thanks to that, Mission: Impossible is always considered one of the best action series of all time, with a total revenue of more than 3.5 billion USD.

The role of Ethan Hunt also turned Tom Cruise into a symbol of action and spy movies. The character is even often compared to writer Ian Fleming’s James Bond.

The daredevil challenges death

When Mission: Impossible 7 premiered, Tom Cruise officially turned 61. But on screen, the actor is still in style with a handsome face and beautiful body, making it difficult for anyone to recognize the signs of time.

In particular, he took on all the action scenes in the film, including dangerous and deadly scenes, which are not easy for even young people to do.

The most impressive segment is when Tom Cruise drives his motorbike at high speed on a cliff, then parachutes in mid-air. The crew had to build a model of a slope 135 m long and 10 m high to help the actors ride and gain momentum to parachute.

To prepare for the scene, the actor went through a rigorous training regimen for 15 months, with more than 13,000 motorbike jumps and 536 practice skydives. Because the filming location is very dangerous, over 1.5 km high. If a mistake occurs, the actor easily faces the possibility of death.

However, Tom Cruise was almost not worried at all. According to Paramount Pictures, at the studio he performed up to 6 real jumps to get the right, beautiful shot on the silver screen. The company said this is the largest action scene ever made in cinema history.

Not only that, Tom Cruise also performed a series of other breathtaking action scenes in the Mission: Impossible series. For example, the scene of clinging to the side of the A400M when the plane is about to take off, acting in scenes of chasing, racing or diving under deep water… All to bring the most realistic feeling to the viewer.

In the media, Tom Cruise is often praised as “the older the ginger, the spicier it gets”. The actor is not only an A-list star but is also increasingly advancing in his career. In the 1990s, he was among the few actors with the highest salary in the world, with at least 15 million USD for each project.

The number has increased many times over the past 4 decades. According to Insider , Tom Cruise earned $100 million for the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick , helping him become the highest-paid star in 2022, also one of the top people in Hollywood.